"I'm here to say congratulations to you chosen ones," Hanks told the graduates as they sadly couldn't attend the ceremony due to COVID-19 restrictions. "And I am calling you the chosen ones because you have been chosen in many ways."

Tom Hanks issues special message for graduating class. (Twitter)

"You are the chosen ones because of a fate unimagined when you began your Wright State adventures," he continued. "You started in the olden times, in a world back before the Great Pandemic of 2020. You will talk of those earlier years in your lives in just that way."

Hanks proceeded to explain how the word "before" will hold significant meaning in their lives moving forward. While other generations used the words "before the war", or "before the internet", the word "before" will "carry a great weight with you," he added.

Actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson seen arriving at the 11th annual Rome Film Festival on October 13, 2016 in Rome, Italy. (Getty)

"You've gone from student to graduate with more that is expected of you than to just be an American," he said. "You've had to be responsible Americans. You've had to be good Americans. Good Americans that have made sacrifices that have saved lives."

"You will be enlightened in ways your degree never held in promise," Hanks continued. "You will have made it through a time of great sacrifice and great need. No one will be more fresh to the task of restarting our normalcy than you — our chosen ones."

"Here's last week's bag of plasma. Such a bag! After the paperwork, it's as easy as taking a nap. Thanks @arimoin and UCLA," Hanks captioned the snap of him giving blood, and thanked Dr Anne Rimoin, an Infectious Disease Epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.